The Common Cold
by Loopstagirl
Summary: Unfortunately, when Merlin is around, nothing is common.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing. Nada, nil, take your pick.**

**Meant to get this up at the weekend and ironically came down with a cold myself. Had the idea for ages, just apparently picked when I had a cold to start writing it. Spooky.**

**Hope that you enjoy.**

"Merlin?"

"Ungh..."

"Merlin, you're going to be late."

"Go 'way..." Gaius sighed as he stared down at the heap of blankets that was his ward. Five years Merlin had been with him now, and the old physician knew they were the happiest years of his life, giving him the chance to experience fatherhood in a way he never thought he would. But there were some times when he would do anything for the peace and quiet of a life in solitude. Merlin may moan about having to wake his master up and the challenges of getting Arthur out of bed on a regular basis. What he didn't realise was that Gaius had to go through the same thing, every single morning to stop the young man from spending the day in the stocks. And with the weather what it was, thick blankets of snow suffocating the whole kingdom; that would not be a good place for the warlock.

"Merlin..." There was a warning note in Gaius' voice this time, accompanied by a sharp tug on the blankets, finally revealing the black hair they had been hiding. Merlin immediately yelped and leapt for the blanket, tugging it up to his chin again and shivering. He opened his mouth to complain at his guardian, and ended in a coughing fit.

"Not you as well?" Gaius sighed, perching down on the edge of the bed and letting his eyes run critically over his ward. The slight flush to Merlin's normally pale skin, how dull his eyes looked. A flurry of colds and flu type symptoms had kept the physician busy over the last few weeks, but he had hoped that because Merlin was always so busy, he wouldn't catch it. He never seemed to get ill, whether it was his powers or just because he didn't ever stop long enough for any bug to take hold. This time, however, he didn't seem to be so lucky.

"Feel horrid..." Merlin moaned, pulling the blanket back over his head. Judging by the way the lump under the covers moved, he had curled back into a ball.

"I have something that will help, my boy." Gaius said gently, his voice softening. He had heard even the knights moaning about how horrible this particular illness was. No lasting damage and only lasted a few days, but knocked people off their feet for those few days. If Knights were moaning, it must be bad. For Gaius had learnt over the years that the stubborn young men sworn to protect the Pendragons and the kingdom would never admit to feeling ill.

"But you know Arthur is still expecting you." The physician finished lamely. Cold or not, the prince of Camelot would still want his servant to attend on him. Of course, Gaius knew Arthur better than that. He would demand Merlin's presence, and then most likely shut him in his chambers with a roaring fire and give him some mundane job to do that would keep him in the warm and not take up too much energy. Merlin wouldn't notice and would moan about Arthur making him work, not realising that he would be in the best place he could.

"Prat..." The mumbled reply was barely audible, but Gaius stood back up as he saw the blankets beginning to move again. Merlin had never been able to say no to Arthur, even if he moaned about it afterwards. Unless, of course, he thought the young royal was being an idiot, then he had no qualms whatsoever about letting the prince know. But no matter how much he grumbled, Gaius knew he was as proud of Arthur as the physician was. After all, it had been nearly a year since the previously naive prince had discovered a certain secret his manservant had been keeping. But instead of turning Merlin over, he had protected him, even helping coming up with some of the stories to keep his father happy. There were only so many times that Uther would believe a creature Gaius had declared could only be killed with magic then supposedly dropped dead at Arthur's sword. More than once, it had landed the prince in trouble with the king, but no matter how much he had threatened Merlin afterwards, Gaius knew Arthur would never turn on the first true friend he had ever had.

"I'll get you something hot." Gaius walked out of the room, knowing by the slight movement that Merlin had given in and was getting up. He set about making breakfast, then drew together some of his tonics that hopefully would see the warlock through the day until he was able to get some rest again. When Merlin still hadn't appeared, Gaius slipped to his chamber doors and managed to get the attention of a passing servant.

When Merlin finally stumbled down the stairs (and even Gaius had to admit, he looked awful!), the physician had everything ready that he thought his ward might need to get him through the day. Of course, he wasn't going to admit that he had sent a message ahead to Arthur, warning him of Merlin's illness. There was one problem with Arthur knowing Merlin's secret. If the prince upset him or pushed him too far, and they were in the safety of Arthur's chambers, Merlin reacted magically. With the warlock ill, Gaius knew he would be lashing out more than normal.

It was just as Merlin sat down that Gaius realised that they had a bigger problem. Merlin had one hand gripping the table as he sneezed violently, groaning as he did so. But the physician's eyes slid past his ward. As Merlin had sneezed, a flickering candle caught Gaius' gaze. He was almost certain that he had put it out the night before. Was there a chance that he was mistaken..?

But then Merlin sneezed again, and again. By the time he had finished, every candle in the room was lit and the mop was hovering in the far corner of the room.

"Merlin!" Gaius said sharply, and the disorientated warlock looked around, confused. His eyes widened in alarm and he quickly waved his hand, making sure everything went back to normal.

"Um..?"

"We need to get you to Arthur."

"Wh...achoo!" Another sneeze caused one of Gaius' potion bottles to go shooting off the table, but luckily, the warlock still had enough of his senses about him to react in order to stop it from hitting the floor.

"I can't walk around the castle like this!" Merlin protested, the effect lost by the way his voice seemed to break off into a croak halfway through the sentence and he coughed. Gaius tensed, but luckily, nothing seemed to happen. It appeared to be just the sneezes that were making Merlin lose his control over the magic.

"And you can't stay here! Do you know how many people turned up yesterday wanting my help with this illness? What am I supposed to do if you are in here making things levitate and spontaneously combust every time you sneeze?"

"Can't I just stay in bed?"

"Merlin..."

"Gaius, please..." As Merlin's voice took on a pleading note, the physician raised an eyebrow smoothly. Merlin glared back for a moment, before squirming and dropping his gaze, coughing again at the same time. At seeing how miserable his ward looked, Gaius moved around the table and rested a gnarled hand on the young shoulder.

"It won't last long, Merlin. And Arthur's chambers are safe; you can lock the door and know that no one will come in without his permission. You'll be able to sneeze all you like."

"He's more likely to lock me _out_ and send me to muck out the stables." Merlin moaned, resting his head on his folded arms on the table with a long sigh, sniffing at the same time. Gaius rolled his eyes.

"On with you, you're going to be late. It's about time you had more faith in him than that. Now go on, you're in my way."

Merlin opened his mouth one last time, intending to plead his case. But then he caught sight of the look on his guardian's face and relented. Gaius had that stern expression in place, one that Merlin knew he had made up his mind. But there was also the concern burning brightly in his eyes, words the old man would never express. He wasn't only worried about Merlin being ill, but the consequences of said illness for the warlock. Much as he would never admit it out loud, the servant knew that Gaius had a point about Arthur's chambers being the safest place for him right now.

He sighed, stood up and sneezed.

"Merlin!"

"Sorry..." Merlin muttered miserably, once more allowing his eyes to flash golden and so stop the water spouting out of the jug as if it was a fountain. The water splashed all over the table and the floor, and in the process of going to get the mop, Merlin sneezed again. The mop came flying out of nowhere, missing his outstretched hand and smacking him on the forehead.

"Just get to Arthur." Gaius said firmly, taking the mop and ushering Merlin out of the door at the same time. "And if you feel a sneeze coming, hold your nose and run."

With that, the door closed with a snap behind the warlock, almost as if Gaius didn't trust his ward to actually make the journey to the prince's rooms unless he had no other option. Merlin rubbed the red spot on his forehead from where the mop had struck him and set off down the corridor. With any luck, he would be able to make it without something happening that would have him executed. He had had colds before, why was this one so different? Maybe it was something magical..?

Merlin had just decided that he was beginning to sound as paranoid as Arthur with magic being around when the next sneeze caught him by surprise. He was only halfway to Arthur's chambers, he didn't even have the chance to try and carry out Gaius' advice before the sneeze had ripped from him. For a moment, Merlin simply froze on the spot, not daring to even breathe. But nothing seemed to happen, and glancing around anxiously, the warlock had to admit he couldn't see anything out of place. Perhaps he would be okay after all?

Deciding not to hang around any longer, Merlin began walking again when he heard a shriek from the next corridor. Acknowledging the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, he cautiously poked his head around the corner, shut his eyes and groaned. He knew it had been wishful thinking in hoping that he had got away with it. Instead, some poor unsuspecting maid had found the tapestry she had been passing under had suddenly detached itself from the wall. A couple of guards were attempted to untangle it as Merlin watched, but the warlock could see in their expressions they had no idea what had made it fall.

Part of Merlin wanted to see if he could help. The other part knew that was just asking for trouble, so he whispered an apology to the maid that she had no hope of hearing, and ran. The sooner he reached Arthur's chambers, the better. He thought that he was going to make it, he really did. Arthur's door was almost in view, all he had to do was get around the next corner and he would have made it.

But luck had never been on Merlin's side. No sooner had he entered the corridor to Arthur's room, he felt another sneeze building. This time, it didn't feel like just one, but a whole load of them. And there were guards stationed outside of Arthur's door since his latest disagreement with his father. There wasn't a lot Uther could do, not without undermining everything he had tried to teach Arthur about being an active Crown Prince and getting the people to trust him. And thanks to bandit attacks in the forest, he couldn't even stop him from attending training. But what he could do was let Arthur know that agreeing with his servant rather than his father in front of the entire court was not acceptable and that the prince would be monitored until Uther saw fit. Arthur had pretended to protest, but Merlin had seen the relief in his eyes that Uther had bought their story. It would have been Merlin's neck otherwise.

The guards, however, were now more of an issue to the servant than the master. The sneeze was building as Merlin tried to walk casually down the corridor, his nose wriggling slightly as he tried to keep it in.

"Morning, Merlin." One of the guards had seen the servant coming. They were only there because they had been ordered too, and Merlin had found that on a good day, he could have quite a conversation with them. This morning, however, he merely nodded stiffly in response, afraid to open his mouth in case something other than words came out. He still had a dozen paces to go, but knew that he wasn't going to make it. His eyes were beginning to water, and Merlin finally took Gaius' advice, pinching his nose as he made a run for the door.

Luckily, the guards were so stunned by his behaviour they let Merlin through without saying a word, the startled expressions on their faces might have been amusing if Merlin hadn't been so preoccupied with trying to stop himself getting executed.

The warlock hurtled through the door, slamming it shut and sliding the lock into place, leaning back on it and breathing heavily. Arthur was up and dressed, something that should have been a surprise and yet strangely wasn't.

"_Mer_lin, what do you think you are doing?" The prince said in exasperation, his eyes running over his servant critically. When he had received Gaius' message that morning that Merlin was ill, he hadn't expected him to literally throw himself into the room with that much energy. Not to mention it didn't explain the locked door in the slightest, nor why his servant was looking scared.

"I'm...I'm... achoo!" The sneeze Merlin was trying to hold back finally exploded out of him. One of Arthur's pillows shot off the bed, hit the canopy above, split and flopped back onto the bed in a shower of feathers. Unfortunately for Merlin, Arthur was standing in front of his bed, his back turned to the destruction his servant had just caused.

"That was why you ran?" He asked, tone decidedly unimpressed and Merlin could already see his brain thinking something along the lines of mucking out stables. Before either of them could say anything else, Merlin sneezed again.

This time, the fire sparked into life, thankfully in the fireplace. Great flames shot up before settling back down and crackling happily. Once again though, Arthur had no idea Merlin hadn't meant for it to happen. Since finding out about his servant, he had become accustomed to Merlin carrying out his chores whilst they both lounged by the fire behind the safety of a locked door.

"Thanks, but wasn't cold. Now, what the hell are you..."

"Achoo!"

"Merlin!" This time, Arthur couldn't ignore what had happened as his sword shot from his belt and began to hover in front of him. The prince lunged for it, grabbing the hilt and finding that he had to pull quite hard in order to get the weapon to come back under his control. He was panting by the time he managed to return it to the safety of his belt, and finally stared at Merlin, understanding in his eyes.

His servant was leaning heavily against the door, eyes shut in what appeared to be exhaustion at having the magic exploding out of him so out of control.

"The sneezes?"

"I can't stop it," Merlin muttered hoarsely. Now the sneezes had passed for the moment, he felt the cough building once more, and before he could stop it, found himself hacking rather uncontrollably. There were tears in his eyes by the time he stopped, and when he finally looked up, he was surprised to see Arthur had moved forward. Merlin made to back away.

"You shouldn't, you might catch it, I might do something..." His babbling did nothing and he couldn't even take a full step backwards before the door stopped any progress.

"Don't be an idiot." Arthur's voice was soft and Merlin was so stunned by Arthur actually sounding like he cared that he didn't protest as a hand landed on his shoulder and he was steered into the room and shoved into the chair by the fire.

"How long does Gaius think it will last?" Arthur prompted, seeing the way Merlin's eyes had glazed over as he felt the warmth of the fire. The servant looked exhausted, and quite frankly, ill. The prince was surprised that Gaius had let him come to work like that. Merlin hadn't seemed to have noticed how protective the physician had become since Merlin arrived in Camelot. Whenever Arthur had had colds as a boy, he had been told to just wrap up warm and get on with it. Although something told him that was Gaius trying to stop Uther saying anything more than toughening Arthur up.

"He doesn't know." Merlin muttered, staring into the fire and feeling suddenly sleepy as the warmth washed through him. His eyes felt so heavy and sore and his throat hurt. He really didn't want to have to work...

Arthur didn't respond, just grabbed a goblet, poured out the water from the jug and thrust it at his servant somewhat roughly. Even so, Merlin's grateful smile caused him to soften slightly.

"Why, worried about me?" Merlin eventually muttered with the smallest hint of a twinkle in his eye. True to form, Arthur smirked and cuffed him lightly over the head.

"My stables need mucking out, I want to know how long until you can do it." He responded flippantly, turning away and finally seeing the mess of his pillow. The prince sighed, rolling his eyes. Merlin knew what he was doing even though Arthur's back was turned and he forced the magic out again, clearing away the feathers and replacing the pillow.

"Now I know why he sent you to me," Arthur muttered under his breath as he heard Merlin sniff again behind him. He too knew that most of the castle had come down with this particular illness, meaning the physician's chambers were no doubt a flurry of activity. Having Merlin in there when knights were dropping by unannounced was just an execution waiting to happen.

"You're just going to have stay here until you can stop sneezing." Arthur announced, but his servant simply looked at him in horror.

"Stay here? Arthur, I can't..." Merlin's protests were cut off by another coughing fit. Only this time, he was unable to catch his breath, the coughs wouldn't stop coming even when the warlock had tears running down his face as he struggled for breath.

"Merlin." There was a commanding note in Arthur's voice this time, one that was underlined by concern as he tried to force his servant to listen to him. "Merlin, stop. You're okay, listen to me. Deep breath..."

"C..can't..." Merlin gasped, continuing to cough. Arthur could immediately see what the problem was. Merlin was working himself up as he continued to panic about the fact he couldn't breathe properly. But in doing so, it was making him worse. Never one known for tact, Arthur slapped him.

It did the trick. Merlin stopped coughing, sucking in a sharp, ragged breath. But then he sneezed. The chair he was sitting promptly collapsed, leaving the warlock sitting in a pile of wood on the floor. To Arthur's dismay, he then began to laugh. Merlin himself didn't even know what was so funny. He guessed it was something to do with the fact that he was supposed to be the most powerful warlock ever to walk the earth, and yet a simple cold was reducing him to this.

"Merlin?" The servant looked up, now unable to stop laughing as he watched Arthur hovering uncertainly above him, clearly not sure how he was supposed to react to the giggling warlock now sitting on his floor, tears still leaking from the corner of his eyes. In response, Merlin sneezed again, causing the windows to be ripped open. Unfortunately, Arthur now knew they had a big problem. Merlin almost seemed oblivious to what he was doing, clearly finding nothing funny yet was so out of it that he could no longer control himself. For once, Arthur couldn't blame him. They fought so hard to keep his magic hidden, and yet here it was, clearly wanting to show itself off at every chance it got. Merlin had no control over the force being torn free of him, and it was being that out of control that was making him hysterical.

As Merlin sat there, still laughing, Arthur grabbed hold of him and dragged him over to the bed. As the windows had opened, the full force of the winter weather had been let in. As the wind ripped around the room, the fire jumped in response, flaring outwards and sparking dangerously close to where Merlin had been sitting.

"You need to pull yourself together." Arthur ordered sharply. Merlin, however, clung onto the bed post weakly, now crying more than laughing as another sneeze caused all of Arthur's armour to topple off its stand and onto the floor with an almighty crash.

"I can't! Arthur, I can't s..stop it..." Merlin was practically gasping for breath and Arthur slapped him again, hoping it would work for a second time. It did.

The laughter immediately stopped and Merlin sat down heavily on the bed, wiping his eyes weakly with the back of his hand.

"Thanks." He muttered somewhat bitterly, his cheek stinging ever so slightly.

"Can't you magic it away?" Arthur asked tentatively, knowing that they were lucky Merlin had locked the door when he had first arrived. No doubt the guards were already suspicious by the noises they could hear within. Merlin shook his head.

"I don't know how. And with it being like...uh oh...like..." Merlin's nose wiggled again, and before either of them could say anything, he sneezed. It was Arthur who felt the force of his servant's magic this time as he was thrown across the room and pinned to the wall.

"Mer...lin..." He grunted, trying to pull away from the wall but finding the spell was still active. Merlin barely spared him a glance as he sneezed again. To Arthur's horror, the dagger that was sitting on his bedside table rose and shot towards him, slamming into the wall inches from his head. Thankfully, Merlin's third sneeze only made the newly created pillow flop feebly off the bed before it was clear he had regained some sort of control and Arthur was let away from the wall.

"We need to find you a cure." Arthur announced to the now deadly silent room. Merlin was sitting on the edge of his bed, staring at his hands in horror, clearly trying to comprehend how his own magic had turned against him so much. At Arthur's words, he looked up, a scared expression on his face.

"It's just a cold, Arthur. You know what Gaius says, that there is no cure." He muttered glumly, swallowing hard before standing up. He coughed again, but luckily this time, it was no more than clearing his throat. Sniffing and blinking his tired eyes, Merlin moved towards the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Somewhere away from you, I'm too dangerous."

Arthur was in front of the door like a shot, causing Merlin to jump as he glanced up at his master. He could have killed Arthur just then, that was how out of control he was. The first thing Merlin had said when Arthur had revealed that he knew was that he would never use his magic to harm the prince. Merlin wasn't about to let a cold break that promise. Instead, he was forming some sort of plan about going to see the Dragon. If he didn't have any remedy, at least Merlin's magic wouldn't be able to hurt him. It would be better than being around people, but it appeared Arthur wasn't going to let him leave.

The prince grabbed his protesting manservant by the elbow and almost forcibly pulled him back over to the bed.

"There is a cure." He announced, and Merlin felt a rush of hope shoot through him.

"What? Arthur, what is it?"

"Rest, warmth and food." Arthur declared proudly, and Merlin simply stared at him as if he had lost his mind.

"And what if I kill you before then?"

"Don't be so stupid, _Mer_lin, you're not going to hurt me. You're going to be asleep."

"I can't, Gaius won't let me back in..."

"Just shut up and lay down." It was only then that Merlin realised he had been steered back over to the bed, and that Arthur was looking at it rather pointedly.

"No way! Arthur, I can't! It's just not..."

"Merlin..."

"Sire, no."

"Oh for god's sake, Merlin, just get in the damn bed."

"No."

"Yes."

"N...achoo!" It seemed that Merlin's magic was for once agreeing with his prince and master. Even as the warlock made to protest further, the latest outburst of magic had him falling backwards, straight into the very place he had been adamantly refusing to go. Arthur didn't waste a moment and yanked his servant further up onto the bed before almost depositing a blanket over him.

"Do as you're told for once."

"But I can't stay here... I have to...do things!" Merlin didn't even know why he was protesting, or why he was struggling to get out from under the blanket. All he had wanted to do all morning was sleep, and Arthur was actually letting him. So why wasn't he keeping his mouth shut and following orders? Apparently, even ill, Merlin had to make sure he had the last say.

"Tell you what," Arthur began, beginning to lose his patience with Merlin. "You can stay here and sleep or you can come with me on an inspection of the guards." He knew that Merlin hated doing that on the best of days, let alone where every sneeze had magical consequences. Merlin glared at him.

"Prat."

"Idiot. Now sleep." Arthur didn't say another word, but strode towards the door. Merlin looked like he was still trying to get up as Arthur unlocked the door. "I mean it, Merlin, stay there."

So saying, Arthur let himself out and locked the door behind him. It wouldn't stop Merlin from leaving should he so desire, but it would stop anyone else entering. Snuggling into the bed, Merlin smiled faintly at the door, knowing why Arthur had done it. He never would have thought that the Crown Prince of Camelot would be protecting a sorcerer, especially one as out of control as Merlin was at the moment. Maybe Arthur finding out really was the best thing that could have happened, even if it meant he was at the prince's mercy now that he was ill and really not able to chase after Arthur now. He just hoped the prince didn't try and do anything rash. Just as sleep overcame him and a sleepy sneeze forced its way out, Merlin couldn't help but wonder what would happen to anyone that tried to mess with his destiny when considering how explosive his magic was right now. He had a pounding head, scratchy throat and was still shaken up from the coughing fit. No one would stand a chance.

Smiling fondly, Arthur shook his head at the closed door and made his way towards Gaius, faintly hearing a thud as what sounded like his chair fell over as Merlin sneezed again. Merlin had been fine the day before, so how on earth had this come on so quickly? Maybe it was something to do with his powers, illnesses emerged a lot quicker in the warlock than they did in other people? Arthur could just pray that it meant that it would go just as quickly. He couldn't quite believe that a simple cold could make his clumsy servant just so dangerous. This was the boy who had promised Arthur with tears in his eyes that he would never hurt anyone with his magic. This was also the boy that Arthur knew for a fact could destroy a life as easily as Arthur blinked. It was a miracle that it had taken as long as it had for Arthur to realise. But he knew that unless Merlin got better quicker, the rest of the castle would soon realise that something was wrong. Just as he always had as a boy, Arthur went to the one person who might have the answers. He turned to Gaius, knowing one thing.

Merlin was going to be the death of them all if he didn't get rid of this cold.

**More coming soon! Hoping to get back to my Saturday updates if I can, so with any luck, part two will be then. This won't be long though! Let me know what you thought?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much for all of the reviews and support with this. I thought it was going to be two chapters long, but it has just taken on a life of its own so there is definitely going to be at least one more! **

Arthur was feeling slightly nervous as he unlocked his chamber door again. Gaius hadn't been very forthcoming with how they could help Merlin get back on his feet, but the prince wasn't sure whether that was because he didn't know, or the room was filled with people. Arthur may have accepted his servant's magic, but the physician was still too used to automatically lying as to cover up anything that seemed out of the ordinary. It was only looking back now that Arthur realised how stupid he had been to fall for all of their stories. As if Merlin would really be able to knock him out with a lump of wood!

The prince didn't even notice that he was holding his breath as he silently let himself in, locking the door behind him again. It wouldn't do anyone any good if someone was to walk in without warning whilst Merlin was having a sneezing fit. All was quiet in the room, and Arthur sighed in relief as he realised Merlin had actually fallen asleep like he had been ordered too. His breathing was heavier and slightly snuffly, and even buried under Arthur's blanket with just the top of his head visible, he didn't look well.

Shaking his head somewhat fondly, Arthur sat down at his table and pulled a stack of paperwork towards him. If anyone asked, at least he was doing something useful. He didn't particularly want to leave his chambers, not knowing how much Merlin would work himself up if the sneezes returned. Although if anyone was to ask, Arthur would just say that his room was nice and warm. Thanks to the accidentally lit fire from earlier that morning, it wasn't a lie.

Arthur had never really considered how much Merlin distracted him from paperwork until that morning. The boy could never do his chores quietly, either dropping Arthur's armour (he was sure he did that on purpose as some sort of revenge!) or just constantly chatting away. But with it all being quiet apart from the servant's heavy breathing, Arthur had got the majority done before a cough drew his attention.

Merlin hadn't even been awake when he had started coughing, but his eyes soon peeled open as he tried to clear his throat, the tears springing to his eyes betraying how much it hurt. Arthur sighed, putting down his quill and picking up a goblet of water, taking it over to his servant. Without a word, he helped Merlin sit up and for the warlock to take a sip. It did the trick, and Merlin leant back on the pillows, flushed and exhausted.

"Thanks," he croaked, looking gratefully up at the prince, who suddenly felt very self conscious of what he had just done. This was so the wrong way around, Merlin was supposed to be attending to his every need, not him looking after his servant! He shrugged and turned away, but missed the small grin on Merlin's face. His servant knew him too well, and knew what Arthur was thinking, even if he wasn't saying it out loud.

"Gaius doesn't know how long it will take," Arthur muttered gruffly, trying to stop the flush working up his neck. Unfortunately, he knew that Merlin knew him well, and so was aware that his insufferable servant could almost read the concern in his voice and eyes, no matter how hard Arthur was trying to hide it. Only Merlin could end up with an everyday illness that could potentially lead to his execution.

"Great," the slightly sullen voice almost took Arthur by surprise, not used to hearing such a tone from Merlin, and turned to face him.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Merlin blinked, looking slightly like a startled rabbit as he stared at Arthur. He glanced down at himself, one foot hovering over the floor as he attempted to navigate himself off the bed.

"Getting up and getting on with my chores before some prat starts moaning at me?"

"Get back in the bed, Merlin. You can't wander around like that and if you are asleep, you won't be sneezing. I don't particularly fancy having my room turned upside down. What? Why are you grinning?" Arthur shifted slightly uncomfortably as Merlin tried and failed to keep the slight grin off his face and understanding dawned on the prince.

"You didn't!"

"I didn't mean too! There was this fairy thing and it was ransacking your room. I had to try and catch it in an iron box lined with lead – Gaius did all the research – but it kept going under things. Do you know how small the gap under your cupboard is? So I kind of thought that..."

"Merlin, stop." Arthur's firm voice cut through his servant's babblings, but inwardly, he was grinning. That was making Merlin sound much more like himself compared to the sullen tone from before. For once, Merlin did as he was told, stopping his story just in time to cough again. He hastily took a sip of the water at Arthur's pointed look, put it back down on the side, and sneezed.

Arthur shut his eyes with a groan as his cupboard door ripped off its hinges. Another sneeze had him ducking with a yelp as the door then hurtled towards him. Straightening up again, he turned to face Merlin. The warlock had his hand outstretched and his eyes burning. Arthur wasn't sure he wanted to know, but still slowly turned to face the window. The door was inches from smashing straight through it, and as Arthur watched, his servant made it float back over the room and settle next to the cupboard.

"Sorry," he said meekly, looking sheepish as he sat on the bed, running his hand through his hair and blowing out a long breath. "I'll fix it later, I just have too..."

"_Mer_lin," the servant stopped, mouth still open as he glanced up at his master.

"What part of you sleeping didn't you understand?" Arthur folded his arms across his chest and raised his eyebrows at his dangerous yet helpless servant. The warlock seemed to be missing the point. Arthur was not going to be allowing him to work, or do anything that could result in him being found out until his sneezes had stopped being quite as explosive.

"Arthur...Sire, please...I can't just lay here all day, I'll go out of my mind with boredom." He broke off, coughing for a moment before turning the hopeless, wide-eyed look on his master. Arthur had come to recognise that look. It had used to be when he had performed magic, an attempt to make him look innocent when he had just single-handedly defeated something that should have been invincible. He was clearly trying to do the same thing here, convince Arthur to listen to what was coming out of his mouth rather than what the actual truth was. Unfortunately, Merlin didn't seem to realise that Arthur had hardened to that look.

"You can, and you will..."

"But..."

"Sire." The knock on the door made both boys jump, and Arthur gave Merlin a warning look that he hoped would scare the warlock into not sneezing. Merlin swallowed hard, waited until Arthur's back was turned and almost leapt off the bed. For him, being discovered lounging around in the Crown Prince's bed was just as dangerous as sneezing in front of Uther. The consequences could be just as lethal for him.

Slowly moving across the room, Arthur could just about see his servant from where Merlin was pretending to make the bed, keeping out of sight. Rolling his eyes, he turned the key in the lock, braced himself, and pulled open the door. Why was it whenever there was a guard at his door these days, he felt an automatic rush of guilt shoot through him? He knew by the looks that Merlin was giving him every time it happened that the warlock knew precisely what was going through his master's head. Arthur was just glad that he didn't say anything, for he knew that would not help matters. It would more likely make Arthur lose his temper with the servant than settle him.

"Gareth?" Addressing the guard shifting hesitantly from foot to foot, Arthur smiled reassuringly. No one liked interrupting Arthur when the door was locked.

"The King sent for you, Sire." Arthur nodded his understanding. He had been expecting that, especially since their latest argument. And with half the knights sick, no doubt the King was making sure that security was still up to standard.

"Merlin, I need you to polis my boots when you are done with that," Arthur ordered, trying to pretend that things were just the same as normal.

"Yes, Sire." It took every ounce of Arthur's self control not to smirk. He could never understand how Merlin could actually act like a proper servant when others were around. His smirk was short lived as he heard a sneeze, followed by a thud and a muffled "ow." He didn't turn around though, didn't let any sign show at all that something wasn't quite right.

"Actually, Sire, the King wants to see him as well." If Gareth noticed the way the colour suddenly drained from Arthur's face, he didn't say anything.

"Very well." The prince practically snapped, shutting the door in Gareth's face and slowly turning to face Merlin. The warlock's face was a mirror image of his, Merlin clutching the pillow almost as if it would shield him from whatever was coming.

"I didn't do anything, Arthur, I swear..."

"Every time you sneeze, you are doing something!"

"But no one saw me, I'm certain. Honest, Arthur, he can't know, I've done nothing, you have to believe me..."

"Enough, Merlin!" Having no desire to stop Merlin from panicking again, Arthur brought the conversation to a close. Maybe they were just overreacting? If Uther had known that there was the slightest thing amiss, Merlin would be on his way to the dungeons in chains already. All that had happened was they had been summoned. It had happened before, why should this time be any different...

"Just...stay behind me, keep your mouth shut and whatever you do, don't sneeze." Merlin's face showed what he thought of that advice, but Arthur didn't care. He crossed the room, grabbed his servant by the arm and practically dragged him out of the room and down the corridor. He didn't dare let go either – something else he had noticed about Merlin was his amazing ability to just disappear. Even with being ill, he wouldn't put it past the boy to do the same thing now. The prince had no desire to explain to his father how he had managed to lose his servant between his rooms and the throne room; he didn't think the king would take too kindly to that.

There was an uncomfortable silence between them that Arthur didn't think he had ever felt before as they made their way towards the throne room. Even when he had discovered Merlin's secret, there hadn't been this atmosphere. Lots of yelling with both saying things that they regretted almost immediately afterwards, but not this uncomfortable silence. The only thing that broke it was Merlin's sneeze smashing a vase. All it had taken was one look before both prince and servant had fled from the scene, only to skid to a halt in the next corridor in fits of laughter, feeling like children up to mischief again. If only things could be that simple still.

Even so, the silence had fallen again as they approached the double doors and the guards practically bowed Arthur in whilst looking in confusion at his sickly looking servant.

"You wish to see me, Father?" Arthur was hoping that if he didn't mention Merlin was here, Uther might just forget about his presence. It was something that now irritated the prince, despite knowing he had been guilty of the same thing once. Once, before Merlin that was, and now he tried to make sure he at least acknowledged the servants.

"You brought the boy?" No such luck there then, and Arthur stepped slightly to one side as the King turned to face them. He moved only enough for Uther to see Merlin was there, making sure his servant was still mainly behind him.

"What is this about, Sire?" Arthur couldn't help feel confused; he had no idea why they had both been summoned. Normally if he had done something wrong, or Uther had a mission for him, Merlin was not summoned as well.

"You are aware of the sickness that has spread through the castle?"

_Don't react, don't react, don't react..._

Arthur kept the chant up in his head as he forced his face to stay impassive, neutral. Even behind him, he could see Merlin tense out of the corner of his eye, and Arthur was hard pushed not to glance skyward. Talk about subtle.

"Yes, Sire. I've lost half my knights to it over the last few days. The ones that caught it first are well on the way to recovery though, we should be back up to full strength within days."

"That's not why I have asked-," Arthur only just held back a snort –, "you here today. You are confined to your chambers until it has passed, I can't afford for you to catch it now, the delegation arrives in two days time."

"Father!" Arthur's protests were short lived as he felt Merlin tense behind him again. This time, he was sure it was nothing to do with what Uther had said.

"Arthur!" The hiss was barely even heard by Arthur, and yet he knew with a sinking heart what it had to mean. Merlin was about to sneeze. In full view of the King.

"Hold it!" Arthur hissed back out of the corner of his mouth, trying not to move his lips in order to make sure his father didn't notice there was another conversation going on in the room. This time, Arthur really didn't need to look to know that Merlin would be rolling his eyes, and hoping to keep the attention away from him, Arthur turned back to his father.

"I don't see how that is necessary, Sire, surely if I was going to catch it..."

"My decision is final, Arthur. You are to remain in your chambers, I don't want you exposed to the knights, especially because so many of them have fallen ill. As for your servant..."

"Arthur, I can't stop it."

"Hold on, Merlin." Arthur felt like he was biting his lip, desperately trying not to react to the fact that his servant was about to give away his biggest secret in front of the worst possible person. "What about my servant?"

"He is to take up residence in the ante-chamber, I don't want him residing with the physician and therefore exposing you to this. Your orders don't tend to get followed where the boy is involved, hence why I wanted him here today. That was a direct order from the king, don't disappoint me, Arthur."

"I assure you, Sire, there is no need..."

"This delegation is important."

"I understand that, but Merlin..."

"Arthur!" This time, Arthur knew they had run out of time. Merlin's voice was anxious and stressed, and his master could almost hear the sneeze in his voice. His protests that Merlin was already ill and he had already been exposed to it died in his throat and Arthur knew he had to do something if he wanted his servant to keep his head attached to his shoulders.

"Merlin, don't interrupt!" Winking slightly at the hurt expression on his servant's face as Arthur whipped around, the prince knew it was the only way he could think of right now to get them out of this. As Merlin opened his mouth to no doubt protest, Arthur slapped his hand over it, pinching the bottom of his nose and hoping that was enough to keep the sneeze in.

"Glad to see you have finally taken the discipline of your servant seriously, Arthur. Now, about this matter..."

"I shall stay where you wish, My Lord. Merlin, come." Arthur didn't give Merlin a choice, forcing him backwards as he kept his hand where it was. Once they were out of the room and the guards had shut the door on the slightly baffled King's face (he had by no means expected Arthur to actually accept his order!), master and servant looked at each other as Arthur tentatively removed his hand. Merlin wriggled his nose, and smiled in relief.

Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Come on, idiot. I think I've just accepted to be confined to my own chambers. You better come up with something that is going to make this worthwhile."

"Why do I have to come up with something?" Merlin responded, beginning to sound miserable again now the meeting was over and Arthur realised he had momentarily forgotten that his servant was ill. He glanced at the boy out of the corner of his eye and saw the flushed complexion settling into place once more now that Merlin had been up for a while.

"Because it's your job, isn't it?" Arthur said lightly, nudging him slightly and receiving a sarcastic smile in response. They had just rounded the corner when Merlin's sneeze finally caught up with him and for the second time that day, Arthur found himself thrown against a wall. But as he sat blearily up, he realised that he wasn't the only thing to have moved. The entire corridor looked like a scene of destruction. The pressure had built up as they had forced the sneeze in for a little longer, and this time, the explosion of magic was beyond which Arthur had seen. Judging by the slightly terrified expression on Merlin's face, it was greater than anything he had done by accident as well.

Arthur rolled onto all fours, pushing himself up as he glanced around him. The tapestries that lined this end of the corridor were in shreds, and how the toppling suit of armour had drawn the attention of the entire castle, he had no idea. But then he found that his eyes were drawn by his servant, and how _terrified _Merlin looked.

"I...I..."

"Let's get you back to my chambers," Arthur sighed, finally standing up and taking a step towards Merlin.

"No!" The boy's yell ended in a coughing fit, yet Arthur still froze at just how powerful Merlin had sounded right then.

"Merlin, you can't stay here. What if that happens again..?"

"I can't be near you, not like this...they're getting worse, you know it!" This time, his voice gave out into a hoarse croak and Arthur found himself properly looking at the boy. There could be no denying that Merlin did look worse. But Arthur didn't understand – he knew that this stage of the illness was normally about three days in. But Merlin had been fine yesterday, how was it progressing so quickly?

"Don't be an idiot, where else are you going to go? You can't go back to Gaius' and you can't very well just roam around the corridor like this. Now come on." His tone slipping into an order, Arthur took another step towards Merlin. Only this time, his servant wordlessly shook his head, an apology springing into his eyes even as they melted into a golden colour. Arthur frowned, took another step forward, and felt a huge weight crushing down on him. It wasn't unpleasant, more warming and making him feel...

"Merlin..." His voice barely came out as a whisper, and before Arthur could continue on his threat, he was asleep.

MMM

Merlin leant against the wall, breathing heavily and brushing his hair out of his eyes. He still didn't know how he had managed to drag Arthur back to his rooms and get the royal into bed without anyone noticing. He still couldn't believe that he had resorted to such drastic measures in order to stop the prince coming after him. But he could feel the force of the magic behind each sneeze now, and knew that it really was getting dangerous. Twice Arthur had been thrown because of Merlin not being able to control himself, what if it carried on getting worse? Besides, Merlin had seen the slight tinge to Arthur's cheeks after they had left the throne room. On most occasions, he believed that it was anger at Uther. This time, however, he knew his master was coming down with the same thing. Actually being forced to rest would no doubt make Arthur feel a lot better.

But the warlock knew he still had his own problems to deal with. He couldn't believe his luck that no one had seen him yet, especially when another sneeze had caught up with him just as he was passing the guards patrolling the corridors and a window had unexpectedly shattered. He needed to find somewhere safe, a place where he couldn't hurt anyone. A place where he could potentially get answers at the same time...

Merlin knew exactly where to go. Whenever Gaius couldn't help him, there was someone older, someone wiser Merlin could still turn too, even if it normally left his head spinning. But even the dragon couldn't ignore him like this, especially considering the corridor seemed to weave slightly as Merlin made his unsteady way down towards the corridor leading to the dungeons.

The guards, as always, were easy to slip past, even if Merlin did think he had given it all away when he broke into a coughing fit just inside the tunnel. The noise seemed to echo around, and it was only then he realised quite how much his head was pounding. Stumbling down the tunnel was the hardest thing he felt like he ever had to do. He was shaking and sweating by the time that he reached the cave, and had to lean on the wall to hold himself upright. Merlin knew there and then that this was no ordinary cold, so what was happening to him?

"Ahh, young warlock..."

"Achoo!" The dragon's normal cryptic greeting was interrupted by the sudden rockslide that seemed to start with no warning at all. The great creature protected himself and then found that he was forced to shield Merlin as well as the youth's knees gave way and he didn't seem to notice a boulder crash onto the ground right next to him. When all had fallen silent again, a large golden eye blinked down at the warlock.

"Your magic is out of control, Merlin."

"You're telling me," a voice croaked feebly in response as Merlin glanced up at Kilgarrah, seeing something soften in his gaze. Something, he couldn't help but note, that looked suspiciously like compassion. "What's happening to me? Everyone else just has a cold. I can't control anything, it's come on so quickly."

"It's part of your powers, young warlock."

"How is it part of my powers to get me executed when I sneeze in front of the king? I've almost killed Arthur twice now just by sneezing in his presence!"

"Listen to me..." Kilgarrah shifted position, crouched on his normal rock but bending over the young warlock slightly. When it looked like Merlin was simply zoning out into his own world, the ancient creature gave a small puff of fire. As the boy yelped and turned his attention back to the dragon, he continued.

"It is not a cold for you..."

"I gathered that much..."

"Merlin! Listen to me!" The thundering voice of a dragon was not something a sickly warlock with a pounding head wanted to hear, and Merlin groaned, almost hugging the cave wall as he used it as support to keep him sitting upright. "It is not the same for you. It is called the _veneficus morbus_, the..."

"Magic sickness." Merlin finished, recognising the words enough to sit up slightly and stare at the dragon. "I don't understand, why is it happening to me now?"

"Your powers have come into their own, and you have not been sick since that happened. A human's immune system is weak, yet a warlock's is not. You are making the transition between the two. A common sickness comes at an accelerated rate, allows your magic to spiral out of control, and will go again at an accelerated rate."

Merlin was frowning, trying to piece together what was happening through the headache flooding his senses. "But why does that magic need to go out of control?" He croaked, another cough ripping from him and making him realise just how much that _hurt._

"Like I said, you have come into your own with your powers. You have control that you never had before, it hasn't had the chance to lash out. This is its one last act of defiance, if you like. When the sickness passes, you will be in more control than before."

Merlin stared at the dragon, understanding but finding that he was in no more for some magical illness. Why couldn't he just get a normal cold like everyone else, actually allow Gaius to fuss over him rather than taking refuge in a cold cave talking to a dragon just because he was afraid that he was going to hurt someone?

"But...how long will it last?" The dragon looked down at the warlock and almost frowned. He had never seen in this bad. Merlin was pale, sweating and shaking and the creature knew he had grown progressively worse even since being down here. He was entering the final stage, but considering how strong his magic was, would it be too much for him to handle? He had heard of occasions that those with stronger magic didn't have the strength to ride out the intense illness, and he just hoped that Merlin was not the same. Even so, as the boy began coughing again, unable to stop until he was retching, the dragon knew he had to do something.

"I don't know, Merlin."

"Don't know? But...but..." Merlin gasped, tears springing into his eyes as he struggled to control himself, curling up into a ball as a way of trying to ground himself.

"Sleep..." Kilgarrah knew that he had no choice. If Merlin knew that Arthur was indeed sickening with the same cold – although it would only lead to a few days of feeling miserable rather than the outcome of Merlin's own illness – he wouldn't be able to leave the young Pendragon in peace. And the dragon knew that Merlin would need all of his strength for this.

Whispering an apology, he breathed lightly over the boy. Merlin's eyes widened and he shook his head, not wanting this, not wanting to have to stay down here like he was hiding away, despite knowing the dangers. But just as Arthur had been powerless to stop Merlin sending him to sleep in the corridor, Merlin was powerless against the dragon's magic.

He was asleep before he could start protesting.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you so much for the amazing support with this story. Hope that you like the last part!**

Arthur blearily opened his eyes, staring at the canopy above his bed in confusion. How on earth had he got here, he was sure he had been in a meeting with his father? Sleepily rolling his head to the side, the prince frowned even more when he saw the sun through his window. It was late afternoon, the light fading as the sun began its descent over the horizon, signalling another day coming to a close. What had happened?

The royal pushed himself into an upright position, groaning as his head pounded slightly. He certainly hadn't felt like this earlier, and couldn't help but smile in dry amusement when he realised what he was feeling. So much for all of his father's concerns about him catching the illness, the man had put his extreme measures into practice too late. Arthur knew what he was feeling, he already had it. He supposed that was what happened when he had spent the whole morning around his sickly manservant.

Merlin! Where was he? Glancing around the room, Arthur knew within a split second of starting his search that the warlock wasn't in the room. Even ill, Merlin couldn't be that quiet, and no doubt he would have something to say about the fact that Arthur too was now ill. But if he wasn't in the safety of Arthur's chambers, where the hell was he? The prince knew he couldn't exactly be wandering around the castle considering his latest predicament. Where would someone with explosive sneezes hide?

Thinking too hard made his head hurt though, and Arthur fell back on his pillows, still feeling exhausted. Why on earth was he so tired, none of this made any sense. Why had Merlin left the safety of Arthur's rooms? Why was Arthur even in here, he certainly didn't remember making the journey back. Frowning in contemplation, an image swam before his mind. Him being thrown against a wall, the entire corridor in chaos and Merlin's terrified expression. Now he remembered, that had happened straight after the meeting, almost _in_ the meeting, in front of the King. What had happened after that? He knew Merlin would have reacted badly to his magic being that out of control, it was just how he was. The most powerful warlock of all time (not that Arthur had ever admitted to acknowledging that to Merlin's face!), yet he was so scared of hurting anyone, especially Arthur.

Slowly, other images revealed themselves to Arthur's fog filled mind. Merlin's apology, his eyes burning gold...and then nothing.

"Oh, Merlin, you idiot..." Arthur muttered, pushing himself back upright again. Now he remembered what the fool had done. Arthur had to admit he was slightly impressed that Merlin had managed to get him back to his chambers and even dump him on the bed before doing his normal disappearing act. Where that was going to get him, apart from was executed, Arthur had no idea. It was a challenge enough keeping his servant hidden from his father on the best of days, let alone when Merlin had no control over his magic and had gone and vanished. Again.

Swinging his legs off the bed, Arthur pulled on his boots and stood up. For a moment, he had to lean against the bed post in order to stop the world swimming slightly alarmingly as a wave of dizziness crashed over him. Not that that was going to stop the determined prince, not when he had a servant to severely reprimand for being such an idiot, after checking that he was okay, that was. The one thing he was more than grateful was Merlin's now inability to lie to him. Apart from the magic, Merlin had always been truthful. And now that he could be open about his gifts, Arthur had found that he could read the boy even easier now. He knew when Merlin was lying to him, even if it was about his own health.

Deciding that crossing to the far side of his room to grab his sword was simply too much effort, Arthur stumbled for the door. Yanking it open rather harshly, it was only a matter of seconds until he was making his way down the corridor, although not quite with the pace that he was used too. Now that he was standing up, he knew he had come down with this illness. He really didn't feel right at all.

Arthur blamed it on feeling ill that he didn't hear the guards coming. He didn't notice a thing, studying the floor as he wobbled his way down the corridor, smirking slightly when he realised the last time he had walked like this, he had been more than drunk and Merlin had been moaning in his ear non-stop about prats of princes who had decided to prove themselves to the knights in a drinking contest. Not that Arthur remembered much of that night.

But even so, when the floor suddenly turned into several pairs of boots, Arthur managed to lift his head, wincing as his eyes caught on of the torches on the wall and it sent a wave of pain through his head. By the time he could focus again, he found himself face to face with three guards. And standing in the middle of them – his father. Sighing in annoyance, Arthur leant against the wall for support.

"I should have known that you took that command too quickly." Uther said quietly, his eyes flickering in disappointment as he gazed at his heir. Normally, Arthur would straighten in defiance and his head would lift challengingly. This time, Arthur just scrubbed a hand over his eyes and groaned softly.

"Arthur?"

"Was going...was going to..." Thinking as fast as his sore head would let him, Arthur tried to come up with something that would stop his father simply throwing him in the dungeons for disobeying him. As his throat started to scratch slightly, the prince had the answer. "Going to Gaius. Don't feel good..."

Uther looked like he had a reprimand burning on the tip of his tongue, something to do with Arthur having to be more careful to make sure that he didn't catch these common illnesses and what was the king supposed to say to the delegation? But then he properly looked at his son. Arthur hadn't noticed the flush steadily working up his neck and across his cheeks, nor the way his eyes seemed a little unfocused. The king sighed, knowing that anything he said now would simply fall on deaf ears. It was clear the prince wasn't well.

"Take him back to his rooms." He instructed the guards, somewhat gently as he let his hand rest on Arthur's shoulder for a moment. "We'll discuss this when you are well again..."

"M'fine..." Arthur muttered, forgetting that he was completely contradicting his earlier excuse of why he was wandering around the castle despite being instructed otherwise.

"Go to bed, Arthur." Uther said firmly, nodding to the guards. Two of them gently took Arthur by the arms and began steering him back down the corridor. He had barely made it ten paces in the first place, only running into the king because Uther had wanted to make sure Arthur had done as he was told for once. They had to move slowly, for with each step, Arthur was trying to pull against them. He may not have felt well, but he also knew that he had to find his servant before Merlin got himself caught and executed.

His struggles had never ever worked against the guards though, even when he had been in his teens and strongly defying everything Uther said just because he wanted too rather than necessarily disagreeing with the man. Coupled with his concern for Merlin and his pounding head, they soon had him in his room. Before they left, however, a noise outside of his room drew his attention and Arthur blinked somewhat sluggishly as Leon walked into view, having seen the guards escorting Arthur back. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the guards.

"Sire?" The loyal knight moved across the room, glancing at his prince in concern when he saw just how out of it Arthur was looking.

"Have to find Merlin." Arthur said stubbornly, knowing the longer Merlin was left out there, the more danger he would be in of being exposed. It didn't even occur to him that his servant could actually take care of himself, or the fact he might have found somewhere safe, especially considering how worried he was about hurting someone. Arthur just knew he wanted the servant back in his room so that he could keep an eye on him, and at least know if the fool was going to get himself executed.

"I'll find him," Leon promised, slowly putting his hand on Arthur's shoulder and pushing him backwards until he was sitting on the edge of the bed. Arthur barely even noticed, letting his head rest in his hands as he screwed up his eyes at the intense headache he was getting. Having been one of the first to suffer from the illness, the Knight sympathised, and slowly navigated his prince until Arthur was lying across his bed. Arthur didn't even notice as Leon pulled off his boots, nor when he pulled the covers over the almost slumbering form.

"You just rest, I'll find that servant of yours and tell him that you want him." Arthur sleepily nodded, not realising that Leon didn't even know Merlin was ill. Sleep sounded good right now, the leftover of Merlin's magic coupled with the fact that he was feeling ill meant Arthur couldn't resist. If Leon was surprised by how quickly the young royal gave in, he was trained well enough not to show his reaction.

"Tell him...tell him he's an idiot..." Arthur slurred just before he fell asleep. Watching him for a moment, Leon shook his head with a fond smile before heading towards the door. If he found Merlin, he would indeed tell him that Arthur wanted him. But he wasn't going to go out of his way, regardless of what he had said. Arthur let his stubbornness come to the surface even more in Merlin's presence, and the knight knew the prince needed his rest.

He knew the pair of them too well, he couldn't help but muse as he softly shut Arthur's door, instructing the guards outside to make sure the prince wasn't disturbed. Moving away, he set off towards Gaius' chambers, intending to prepare him for the oncoming storm of an ill Arthur. They would need all the strength of mind and patience in the world in order to deal with him like this. Arthur never had been, and never would be, an easy patient.

MMM

Deep down below the castle, unaware of his master's own illness, Merlin trembled. He was curled up, his limbs jerking in odd movements before they tucked back into his body, trying to preserve some of the little heat he had. He was freezing cold, yet his brow was beaded with sweat. Every now and again, a soft cry would rip from him and some boulder deep within the cave would be torn from its resting place and thrown around.

Kilgarrah kept watch over the young warlock all that afternoon and deep into the night. He never thought he would feel for a human again, and knew that given the chance, he would do anything to get Merlin to release him from the prison that had contained him for all of these years. But watching the trembling form, realising quite how small and fragile the potential dragonlord looked, Kilgarrah felt something stir in him that he had not felt for a long time. He truly wanted Merlin to overcome the magical infliction, and not just because the boy was his way out of here. He wanted Merlin to live simply because he was Merlin. Even after he had almost brought about the death of the boy's mother, the warlock had returned, and slowly began to trust him again.

The dragon knew Merlin was lucky. He had come into his powers just as an illness had ripped through the castle, rendering many of its puny inhabitants sick. But it meant the boy's illness was not questioned, and it even seemed that the symptoms had taken on the same form of that which was raging above. But this was far from any ordinary cold, and the warlock was going to be lucky to walk away from it at all.

A soft groan caused Kilgarrah to look down just in time to see disorientated orbs flicker open and gaze at him in confusion.

"Don't try and move, young warlock. You are not free from it yet."

"M-magic s...strong..." Merlin's mumble was accompanied by a flare of his eyes and a great section of the ceiling came crumbling down. Not for the first time was the dragon forced to protect the warlock from the falling debris. This time, the rock fall didn't stop for a while as Merlin's magic continued to race out from him.

When it finally slowed, Kilgarrah found that he was concerned to see Merlin's shakes had got even worse, and as his eyes closed once more, he knew it was not sleep that had stolen the young man away, but the realm of unconsciousness. It was entering the final stage... Now Merlin truly was in for the fight of his life.

In all of his years, the Great Dragon had seen many sorcerers battle this illness, reigning in their powers and becoming more in control than they had ever been in their lives. But never had he seen the magic still seep out from its host even when unconscious, and he could see Merlin's eyes rolling under their closed lids, the burning gold obvious even like that. He was jerking strangely, again something that the dragon had never seen, and he knew once and for all he truly was looking at the most powerful warlock of all time. Merlin was the one that was going to create the Albion that had been foretold, guiding the future king in the right direction. But first of all, he had to guide himself through the darkness, find a way of forcing his magic to settle.

For many more hours, Kilgarrah watched over the unconscious form, sheltering him from any further rockslides when his magic got a little too wild and even heating the stones surrounding the warlock, knowing the cave was not warm enough for a human, especially one as small as Merlin. In the early hours of the morning, the jerking stopped and Merlin went completely still.

"Fight, young one, you must fight." Kilgarrah wasn't quite sure when he was suddenly willing the stubborn young man to open his eyes, to give a grin and go bounding off again like nothing had happening in his usual manner. The dragon was worried, never had he seen someone so still and so pale. He knew there was nothing he could do but wait, and hope that the pull of destiny was strong enough to get Merlin through this.

MMM

Arthur awoke mid-morning, having slept straight through the night. He still felt rough, and knew that it would be many more days before he was back to his normal self if the knights' reports were anything to go by. But after having so much sleep thanks to Merlin and Leon, at least he felt like he could think straight. It didn't take long for him to realise that Merlin still wasn't in the room, and judging by the way none of the jobs had been done, hadn't been for some time.

Groaning, Arthur climbed out of bed, tugged on his boots and jacket and crept to the door. This time, he was alert enough to make sure there were no guards around before he started creeping down the corridors. Luckily, there had been none outside of his door, but little did Arthur realise it was just because he had gone to relieve himself at that split second. Arthur had no idea how lucky he had just been as he began to scour the castle for his servant.

The prince had some idea of heading towards Gaius and seeing if Merlin had barricaded himself in there. It was often the place Arthur could find him sulking, although Merlin always seemed to be surprised that Arthur found him. But he never made it that far before something caught his eye. A massive crack ran down a wall, and judging by the way it disappeared through the floor as well, Arthur knew it must be the same on the level below. Despite himself, Arthur had to smile. That hadn't been there the day before, of that he was sure. And there was only one person he knew that would be able to cause damage like that and not be around when someone noticed. Merlin and his sneezes were going to be the death of Arthur, or at least, his nerves.

For a while, Arthur followed the cracks through the corridors, realising that they were all in a very similar position to each other on each level. The only answer Arthur could give was that Merlin was somehow underneath it all, and his magic was causing trouble down in the foundations which in turn were affecting the castle. Arthur knew he must be down on the dungeon level at least, but why on earth would Merlin head down that way? Was he that paranoid that he was going to do something to hurt someone that he had completely isolated himself in the darkest and dampest parts of the corridor? The servant had a cold, it was possibly the worst place he could be.

Rolling his eyes at the idiocy of his servant, Arthur headed down the steps, inwardly shivering at the blast of icy air that met him and drawing his jacket closer around him. But once he reached the bottom, he stopped again, frowning. The cracks lead down the opposite corridor, one Arthur had never travelled down. He had tried once when he was a boy, but the guards had stopped him and his father had been so furious that Arthur had never tried it again. It was the only time Uther had ever raised a hand to him, but it had certainly made an impression great enough to cure his curiosity. But now...now Arthur just _knew_ that he had to travel down the forbidden route in order to find his manservant.

With a quick glance around him to make sure there were indeed no guards, Arthur set off at a brisk pace, determined that he was going to get Merlin, drag him back upstairs and then lecture him when they were in the warmth and safety of Arthur's rooms again. But all plans were put on hold as Arthur found himself in a huge cave, a crevice under the castle so huge he knew he could probably fit something the size of the palace into the gap. Craning his head back, he was sure that something caught his eye at the top of the rocks, as if something was crouched there out of sight.

As he took a step forward, twisting his neck awkwardly to try and see what was up there, his foot nudged something. Arthur would vehemently deny the worry that coursed through him as he caught sight of Merlin's motionless form, but he immediately dropped to his knees, stretching out his hand and touching the icy hand.

"You moron." He muttered irritably to himself. Only Merlin would go to the darkest and furthest part of the castle when he was sick and go and collapse where no one could see him. Arthur shrugged off his jacket, immediately shivering in the cold air and tied it around his servant. Without any further ado, he hoisted the young man onto his shoulders and set off without a backwards glance, determined to warm the man up. It seemed any lectures were going to have to be put on hold. In the dim light, he didn't see the golden flare of Merlin's eyes as he moaned slightly, nor a large creature peering down from the top of the rocks.

By not looking back, Arthur didn't see the dragon emerge from where he had sought shelter in the rocks on sensing the young Pendragon's presence. He had tried to draw the young man down here many years ago, to impress on him the destiny he had been born to fulfil, but the royal had never come. Kilgarrah had just put it down to the Pendragon stubbornness, but he couldn't help but feel some satisfaction that he had caught a glimpse of his Once and Future King. And judging by what had come out his mouth when he had seen his warlock, he was not as bad as Merlin constantly moaned he was.

The pull of destiny had indeed been strong enough to save Merlin. His magic had cried out, and Arthur had come. Somehow, Kilgarrah knew that Merlin was going to be alright now. The fight against the magic had been won hours ago, it had just been the cold and damp conditions that had kept him unconscious, making the dragon realise the cold was not an act, the warlock genuinely had that as well. The magic that he had sensed even as Arthur had carried him out had been it trying to save Merlin from the cold, tugging on the bond with Arthur and bringing the prince down here. After all, Arthur had never risked his father's wrath regarding the forbidden corridor before now.

Not realising that he was being examined by a creature so magical and so old it would make his head spin if he thought about it, Arthur made his way back to his chambers as quickly as he could. Kicking the door shut behind him, Arthur dumped Merlin none too gracefully on the bed, tugging the covers up over him, sliding his jacket out before standing back and biting his lip. He didn't want to fetch Gaius, not yet. Much as he was going to tell Merlin precisely what he thought of the young man going down to that part of the castle, Arthur had no desire for Gaius to find out. The man's lectures would not help the headache Arthur still had brewing. He wasn't letting Merlin out of his room now, meaning he would be forced to listen as well.

After poking the fire back into existence, Arthur sat down heavily at his table, pulling a stack of paperwork towards him. His father would no doubt expect him to have something to show for the time he had spent confined to his chambers, even if both royals now knew it was a pointless measure because Arthur was indeed sickening with the same illness Uther had been trying to save him from.

The words on the parchment seemed bleary, and Arthur just about registered that he had read the same sentence three times before he too fell asleep where he was sitting.

MMM

With a sigh, Merlin shifted and opened his eyes, blinking about him in confusion. He recognised this room, but it did nothing to explain how he had got there, or why he was lying on Arthur's bed. A tickle in his throat caused him to sit up, groaning softly as his head pounded. The goblet he knew he had been drinking from before (he wasn't sure how long he had been out for, seemingly remembering it was late afternoon when he had gone to see the dragon. Judging by the light outside, night had fallen, but Merlin wasn't sure if it was the same day or not) was still sitting next to the bed and he hastily took a sip before the cough could become anything more.

Leaning back on the mountain of pillows behind him, Merlin yawned, wondering how he still felt tired. After glancing around quickly, he smiled softly to himself as he caught sight of Arthur, and letting his eyes flash, he draped a blanket of the slumbering royal and fed the fire a little to keep it burning. He didn't like the flush to Arthur's skin.

Swinging his legs off the bed, Merlin scrubbed a hand through his hair, trying to piece together what had happened. He was sure he had gone down to see the dragon, and they had ended up having a conversation about his magic, and how this wasn't a normal cold for him. After that, it had gone a bit blurry, but he was sure that he hadn't made the journey back up into the main part of the castle himself. Considering even contemplating standing up right now was making his head hurt, he knew for a fact he wouldn't have been able to. But there was only one way he would have ended up in Arthur's chambers... but did that mean the prince had seen the noble creature his father had imprisoned?

Groaning in frustration at not knowing what was going on, Merlin stood up...and promptly found that his legs didn't want to support his weight and he crashed down onto the floor. Arthur awakened with a grunt, his hand automatically flying to a sword that wasn't there, only relaxing when he caught sight of his bemused servant sitting on the floor. For a moment, he just smiled softly at the blanket around his shoulders.

"Sire?" Merlin's squeak showed that his manservant was worried about something, and Arthur rolled his eyes.

"When I say stay put, I don't mean hide in a cave no one knows exists." He scolded, climbing to his feet and stretching, trying to ignore his headache. He didn't see Merlin visibly relax out of the corner of his eye, the warlock now certain that Arthur hadn't seen Kilgarrah. How on earth he could have missed a dragon, Merlin had no idea, but he knew Arthur's observation powers weren't always that great for the First Knight of Camelot. Subtly details he noticed, but give him a dragon or a best friend hiding magic, and he turned a blind eye.

"Sorry," Merlin muttered sheepishly, using the bed to pull himself to his feet and realising that he didn't feel quite as dizzy as he had done.

"Sorry doesn't cut it, Merlin. You've been down there since yesterday, you were freezing!" Merlin silently thanked Arthur for the knowledge of the time frame, knowing it wouldn't have looked good if he had been forced to ask.

"You sound like you were worried there." True to form, Arthur rolled his eyes.

"You spelled me to fall asleep. Of course I wasn't worried, I was fuming!" he said, but there was a twinkle in his eye that had Merlin grinning back slightly. Before he could say anything, however, he suddenly sneezed. Both master and servant froze, but as Merlin glanced around tentatively, he knew he wouldn't find anything. He wasn't sure how he knew, but something felt at peace within him, and the warlock realised that he had overcome whatever it was Kilgarrah had been talking about the day before about his magic settling.

"Glad you are on the mend," Arthur said gruffly. "Now you can go and find me some food."

"Achoo!"

"Merlin!"

"I didn't mean too!"

"Achoo!" Merlin jumped, staring around him before beginning to smile. That hadn't been him.

"Arthur!" Mimicking the prince's previous tone of annoyance, Merlin grinned as Arthur glared at him, sniffing slightly. The longer Arthur had been awake for, the more the cold had settled into him, and he now had red-rimmed eyes to complete the glare.

"Shut up, _Mer_lin."

"Achoo!" This time, they both sneezed almost simultaneously, and Merlin couldn't help but laugh. It was going to feel like a very long night. But at the end of the day, he knew this cold had helped him overcome something far greater and that he was one step closer to helping Arthur fulfil his destiny.

Although considering the way Arthur was glaring at him for finding their sneezing funny, Merlin wasn't sure whether he was actually going to live that long.

**The end.**


End file.
